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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24028435">serious</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandobls/pseuds/mandobls'>mandobls</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:35:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>585</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24028435</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandobls/pseuds/mandobls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>of jokes and justification</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>serious</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>she makes… a lot of jokes. </p><p><em>great</em>, you think, <em>she’s funny. we get it</em>.</p><p><em>no</em>. you don’t understand. it’s… everything. everything she says or does is a joke. the jokes are… <em>her</em>. </p><p>when the mandalorian first met her, hanging upside-down from the ceiling of a bounty’s home, face puffy from the blood and bruises littering her skin, she had grinned and said, “mind getting me down?”</p><p>when they ran from the place, angry shouting from behind them and the promise of safety in front of them, she’d groaned, “<em>maker</em>, i’m starving. can we stop there? <em>please</em>-” he had to physically drag her away from the cantina.</p><p>when he offered to hire her to help him pilot and take care of the child, she’d said, “yeah, sure! does the kid have insurance?”</p><p>he even asked her about it once. the first and only time she was serious about something was then. </p><p>
  <em>“you asked why?” he nods, shifting into a better position on the sand. she shrugs, picking up a handful of the stuff and letting it drain through her fingers.</em>
</p><p><em>“heard of a coping mechanism?” he stays silent. </em>of course<em> he has. he’s had too many of those. the pilot stands, walking closer to the water. moonlight spills onto the waves and her figure in rays. she turns and grins at him. it’s a familiar one that’s he’s used to. it spreads from ear to ear, mischief alight in her eyes…</em></p><p>
  <em>her eyes. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>she thinks she is, but she’s not far enough away to hide her tears from the mandalorian. a vision in the moonlight, hair whipping with the wind, eyes shining.</em>
</p><p>that was the day he fell in love with her.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“deja vu, am i right?” the pilot pants softly as she sprints beside him, glancing over her should a couple times at the blaster-wielding bounty hunters behind them.</p><p>“unfortunately,” he replies, spotting the <em>razor crest</em> in the distance. </p><p>“good thing i’m with you,” she sings happily, stealing a quick look at him.</p><p>“ha ha,” he deadpans, cursing as a shot clips and bounces off his pauldron. there’s silence beside him, a rather rare occurance.</p><p>“…what if i mean that?” he looks at her, confused (and admittedly, slightly hopeful.)</p><p>“what?”</p><p>“i mean, what if i’m in love with you but i’ve been to scared to say it because you hate me?” </p><p>“<em>what</em>?”</p><p>“like, you don’t laugh at my jokes and you’re quiet all the time and you don’t talk to me. i know you hate me. you don’t have to-” he cuts her off, incredulous.</p><p>“heard of a coping mechanism?”</p><p>“w- what?” the two finally reach the <em>razor crest</em>, tumbling into the hatch. the pilot scrambles to the cockpit, taking off and sending them who-knows-where. </p><p>“how’s this?” the mandalorian asks, leaning against the threshold of the cockpit. “you make less jokes and let yourself feel, and in return,” he steps closer as she stands. “i talk more, and-”</p><p>“open yourself up and tell me how things make you feel?” he nods, and she grins (yes, <em>that</em> grin.) “deal!” she raises a teasing hand for him to shake, but he bats it aside, gently guiding her head to rest on his chest, other hand resting lightly on her waist.</p><p>“you make me feel…” he hesitates, trying to make good on his promise and focus when she wraps her arms around his waist. “like everything i’ve experienced was worth it.”</p><p>“i love you,” she blurts, cooling her quickly-warming cheek on his breastplate’s cold beskar.</p><p>“…and i you.”</p>
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